While most hedge funds haven’t had a lot to cheer about in the New Year, a few are proving their worth in a difficult market.

New York-based Paulson & Co. said that all three of its top strategies have posted a positive return in the first two months of 2008. And while the returns are not on the level of the spectacular triple-digit figures the firm posted last year—it began unwinding its subprime mortgage shorts late in the year—with all but two hedge fund strategies in the red through February, according to Hedge Fund Research, investors are unlikely to complain.

The firm’s flagship merger arbitrage strategy is up between 4.3% and 9%, according to a Friday letter to investors. Its credit strategy returned more than 8% over that time, Reuters reports, and its event-driven strategy is up between 5.5% and 10%.

Meanwhile, Brevan Howard Asset Management is making its case for investing in its planned second listed feeder fund. The firm’s $17 billion flagship global macro Master Fund is up an eye-popping 17.1% through February.

London-based Brevan Howard plans to launch the BH Global Fund on the London Stock Exchange. The firm hopes to raise about US$500 million for the fund, which will invest in other Brevan funds, with as much as 50% in the booming Master fund.

Winton Capital Management investors are also smiling: Its Futures Fund rose 7.9% last month, and is up 12% year-to-date. The US$5.4 billion fund enjoyed “renewed strengths in the commodities markets, with our long positions in grain, precious metal and energy sectors all making positive contributions,” the firm said in a letter to investors. It also credited the continued decline in the U.S. dollar.